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The Ludvig boss fight is one of the key quest battles during Chapter 7 of Crimson Desert. While he may appear to be a standard human opponent, don't let his stature fool you. This encounter features punishing lighting attacks in the second phase. You will also encounter Ludvig a second time, we will cover that later.
As with most boss fights in Crimson Desert, the golden rule is true: Food is king. The key to this fight, as with many in Crimson Desert, is good preparation. Bringing the right food is critical, as well as the correct weapons and armour to keep you alive.
Pre-Fight Preparation: Food and Armour
Preparation is the foundation of victory against Ludvig. Before confronting him, ensure your loadout and inventory are optimised.
Stockpile Food: Food is the most essential part of staying alive. Head to local Inns or butchers to pick up +Health food. You can also kill wildlife and skin them for meat or pick berries.
Optimise Your Gear: By Chapter 7, you should aim for at least level 4 equipment. A solid setup includes:
- Armour: Full Plate set (Helm/Armour) with Plate Boots. Anything with + Lighting protection is also very good here
- Weaponry: A level 5 Tauria Curved Sword (or a refined Grey Wolf Sword that you start the game with), another good option is the Survivor's Solitude
- Accessories: Level 4 Jewellery
- Embed Abyss Cores: Visit the Witch to open slots on your gear. For your sword, we highly recommend embedding Crow’s Pursuit, which comes with the Tauria Curved Sword
Skill Investment: Focus your skill points into flat Health and Stamina increases. Prioritise upgrading Kliff’s sword skills to maximise your damage windows, including the Echo skills.
Ludvig Fight Explained
Combat Strategy: Phase 1
The first phase is a test of patience. Ludvig is fast, but his human form follows a predictable rhythm if you don't rush.
- Patience with Defence: You must be disciplined with your dodges and blocks. Do not spam attacks; instead, wait for Ludvig to finish a string before counter-attacking
- Conserve High-Tier Food: Start by using your less valuable food items (like Grilled Meat) during this phase. Save your cooked heals for the later phase
- Stamina Management: Because Ludvig moves so quickly, keep a close eye on your stamina bar. If you run out of stamina, you won't be able to dodge his elemental bursts. Remember, while Dodge is a powerful skill, it costs a lot of stamina
Phase 2: Bring the Lighting
When Ludvig transitions into his second phase, the difficulty spikes significantly as he incorporates electric spells into his rotation.
- Identify Elemental Cues: Watch for dark aura effects. His reach increases in this phase, and his damage can shred your health bar in seconds if you aren't topped off
- Aggressive Healing: This is where Ludvig’s speed becomes rapid. If you take a hit, back off and eat immediately. Do not try to "power through" on low health, as his follow-up combos are often lethal
- Utilise Your Abyss Cores: Use the mobility from Crow’s Pursuit or the speed of Wind Slash to close the gap or escape his area-of-effect dark attacks
- Shield Discipline: Use your Shield to mitigate the chip damage from his faster strikes, but be ready to dodge-roll away from his heavy elemental slams. Block uses very little stamina but can save your life
Ludvig One-Armed Fight
We don't kill Ludvig the first time around, so we need to have a second go at it. This time, however, we play as Oongka. This fight is much easier than the first time we fight him, however, Oongka is not as good as Kliff, and this is basically the first fight you do as him.
With that in mind, here is what worked for us:
- Change out the default two-handed axe Oongka starts with for the duel-wielded sword
- Use the "heavy attack" (R2/RB/right click) to do most of your damage
- Oongka swaps Kliff "Focus" (L3+R3/X) to enter a Rage Mode where your damage is massively increased
- Ludvig is much faster in this fight, so wait for him to stop attacking, then dish out as much damage as possible
- This is a one-phase fight, but it will probably take a few attempts as you get used to Oongka's slower attacking style
Pro Tip: You are able to put skill points into Oongka. We would suggest not doing that for now, as you'll be right back to Kliff after the fight